Street-sweeper.



PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

@vwemboz 00 gluon-su s 75 Qwzwk.

PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1907.

A. 0. FORD. STREET SWEBPBR. APPLICATION I'ILBD 001212, 1904.

sauna-5112M 2.

illlllmmfn THE NORRIS FEYIIS 60., WASHINGTON. a c

' vUNITED sT il fi AMANUEL 0. FORD, OF INDIAN SPRINGS, TENNESSEE.

STREET-SWEEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed October 12, 1904. Serial No. 228,142

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMA'NUEL 0. FORD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indian Springs, in the county of Sullivan, State ofTennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inStreet-Sweepers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to sweeping machines and particularly to thatclass employed for sweeping streets, the object of the invention beingto provide a construction which may be attached to the rear of a cart orwagon and drawn after it, the machine operating to collect and elevatethe dirt and discharge it into the wagon or cart.

' A further object of the invention is to provide a construction whereinthe parts may be adjusted to compensate for wear and to suit differentconditions of operation, other objects and advantages of the inventionbeing understood from the following description.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification and in whichlike numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views,Figure 1 is a top plan view of a machine embodying the presentinvention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine unattached to acart.- Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through themachine attached to a cart. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section online 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the present machinecomprises a frame including side sills 5 and 6, which are connected attheir ends by the cross-pieces 7 and 8, The axle 9 of the machine isdisposed towards the rear end of the frame and carries upon its reducedends the traction wheels 10 and 11, which are rotatably mounted thereon,the hub of the last-mentioned wheel being connected by a sleeve 11 witha gear 12, likewise rotatably mounted on the axle end, so that rotationof the wheel'll will effect the rotation of the gear wheel 12.

At each side of the frame of the machine is a forked hanger comprising alower stem portion 13 and upper laterally spaced members 14 and 15 inwhich latter are formed arc-shaped slots 16 and 17 through which arepassed set-screws l8 and 19 which are engaged with the adjacent sill ofthe frame. In the lower portions or stems of the hangers are formedbearings 20 and 21 which receive the trunnions 22 and 23 at the ends ofthe drum 24 of a brusln The brush includes the central drum 24 which isin the form of a polyhedron of any desired number of sides, thetrunnions 22 and 23 having disks 25 and 26 at their inner ends which aresecured to the ends of the drum in any suitable man ner. Against eachface of the drum or against certain faces as preferred are disposedwisps or splints 27 which lie transversely of the face and projecttherebeyond at both ends.

Transversely of the wisps and longitudinally of the drum are disposedclamping bars 28 of wood or other suitable material held to the drum byscrews or bolts 29 and which clamp the wisps firmly to the drum, thosefaces of the drum having no wisps being provided with filling-bars 30which serve to hold the ends of the wisp or splints so that they radiatefrom the drum.

The trunnion 23 is squared at its outer end beyond the hanger and uponthis'squared portion is slidably engaged a pinion 31, the hub 32 ofwhich is provided with a circumscribing groove in which is engaged theyoke 33 at the lower end of a lever 34 which is pivoted to an car 35 onthe adjacent hanger. The lever is provided with the ordinary latch 36for engagement with a notched plate 37 which projects from the hanger.As the lever is shifted, the pinion 31 is swung into and out ofengagement with the gear-wheel 12 to receive motion therefrom at timesso that the brush may be rotated or not as desired. As the machineprogresses, the brush rotates with its lower side forwardly or in thedirection of progress of the machine and as the hangers are adjustablevertically, the brush may be lowered to compensate for wear or raised tosuit conditions of use.

Coupling means 40 are connected to the front end of the frame of themachine and are pivotally engaged with a plate 41 by means of aremovable pin 42. The plate 41is secured to a cart or wagon 43 so thatthe machine may be drawn along the street to be swept.

In order that the dirt swept by the brush, may beelevated and dischargedinto the wagon or cart, an elevating apron 44 is provided, this apron,which is endless,

per side of the apron will move upwardly and forwardly,

the apron and the bottom of the brush, the upper edge or this platelying above the lower portion of the apron so that the dirt which isswept over the plate will pass from it onto the apron and upwardly uponthe apron to the wagon or cart, movement of the dirt with the apronbeing insured by cleats 54 secured transversely of the apron. The curvedplate is shown at 55 and is pivoted upon a shaft 56 which is mounted inthe hangers 48. The plate is free to swing toward and away from thebrush at its lower end and to hold the plate yieldably with its rear orlower edge against the ground, helical springs 56 are attached to theplate and to the lower ends of the hangers.

To prevent dirt passing around with the brush, a curved guard-plate 60is provided which is disposed above the first-named plate, the upperedge portion of the guard plate being bent rearwardly in the directionof the brush, in close relation to which it lies. The guard plate isprovided with cars 60 at its ends which are slotted to receive guidepins 61 and set screws 62 which permit of adjustment of the plate towardand away from the brush when desired and at other times serve to holdthe plate in fixed position.

Upon the rear portion of the frame is mounted aseat 63 and the guardplate is provided with wings 64 at its ends, which extend in thedirection of the brush shaft or drum at the ends of the brush Inpractice, modifications of the specific construction shown may be madeand any suitable materials and proportions may be used for the variousparts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A street sweeper comprising, in combination, a frame; an axle carried bysaid frame at the rear end thereof; traction wheels rotatably mountedupon the ends of said axle; a vertically adjustable fork-shaped hangersecured to each side of said frame and comprising a pair of up per,Iaterallyspaced members each provided with a curved slot, and a lowerstem portion provided with a bearing; set-screws carried by said frameon opposite sides thereof and projecting through the slotted members ofthe hangers, to retain the latter in adjusted position; a rotatablebrush disposed in advance of said axle, said brush being provided withtrunnions adapted to fit in said bearings; a gear rotatably mounted uponsaid axle adjacent one of said traction wheels and connected to the hubof the lat ter, so as to rotate therewith; a pinion longitudinallymovable upon the adjacent brush trunnion; means for moving said pinioninto and out of engagement with said gear; and means carried by saidframe for discharging the dirt swept up by said brush during itsrotation.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

AMANUEL 0. FORD.

Witnesses FANXIE M. SMITH, M. A. Sm'rn.

